How to Make a Button Pin

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Button pins are pretty and inexpensive pieces of jewelry to make yourself. They have endless color, size and pattern possibilities depending on the buttons you choose. Easy to put together, you can make one for any special event, even at the last minute.

Purchase plastic casing. You will need to buy snap-in button casing. You can find this online or at your local craft store. It comes in a variety of sizes and you can get as many as you need (from 20-200 or more!).

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Prepare your image. Print and cut out the image that you want on your button. Make sure the image you have is the right size for the button casing and then print it out on regular paper. Cut out the images as perfectly as you can.

Buy a button press. For a professional finish and ease of production, buy a full button press. They aren't that much money and it will make the work a lot easier, if you need to make several hundred buttons.

You can also buy a hand-held cheap version but this produces a cheap-looking button.

You can also get paper cutters which will further streamline the process. Just make sure it's the right size for your machine.

Prepare the image. Print and cut out the image that you want on your button. Make sure the image you have is the right size for the button casing and then print it out on regular paper. Cut out the images as perfectly as you can.

Choose the buttons. The color and style of the buttons is entirely up to you but you might like to consider some of the following ideas:

Choose matching but varying hues.

Choose the exact same color; this could be good where you want it stand out against a plain top.

Choose a rainbow of colors.

Choose different patterns, or even sizes of buttons.

Whatever buttons you choose, ensure that they are in excellent condition and will be able to withstand being turned into an often-worn item of jewelry. Older, more fragile buttons may not be ideal for this project.

Decide whether you would like to alternate the petal colors or have the same color. For alternating colors, choose an even number of buttons. Arrange the buttons in a circle, alternating the colors and check that the look is suitable. You can have an odd number of buttons if the colors are matching.

Select the center of the button flower. For this, the button needs to be much larger than the petal buttons, as they will sit around it. You can either match this button to the petals or choose a button in a completely different color, texture or style, as long as you like how it looks.

Place the large central button over the already-made circle of petal buttons. Make sure you can see the petals poking out from around the edges.

Find a button somewhat smaller than the big button that is being used for the middle. Place this one on top of the big button. Do the same for each additional layer you want (obviously, you're limited by how large your central button is).

Open the safety pin. On the side that doesn't open, lather this with hot glue. Place it on the middle of the craft foam circle. Then place a lot of glue on either side of the pin, and on top of the side that doesn't close. Press it in for a few seconds. Then let it dry. If needed, add more glue until the pin sticks.

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 14 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 165,166 times.